A mum and dad have voiced their “disgust” after their daughter made the shock discovery of a hypodermic needle in the toilet of a KFC.

Leah Corkin and Ryan Boydell were at the fast food restaurant with two-year-old Summer on Tuesday afternoon, hoping to enjoy a family meal.

Now, the chain has been forced to apologise after the toddler spotted the needle nestled underneath the sink which could have been used to inject drugs, at the restaurant at Newcastle’s Bigg Market.

“I took Summer to the men’s toilet with me and I heard her say ‘what’s that, daddy?’,” said Ryan, a salesman from Gateshead. “I looked underneath the sink and there it was – a needle was just lying there.

“I got Summer in my arms and I just got out of there as quickly as I could.”

Ryan marched to the counter and complained to the manager.

“I wouldn’t have known what one [a needle] would have looked like if I hadn’t have seen it in a film,” he said. “I was totally gobsmacked. It’s disgusting.”

Leah, a cleaner for Newcastle’s Copthorne Hotel who is from Hebburn, said: “I’m also disgusted.

“The fact is my daughter might not be here now because anything could have happened.

“I think the fact that it was a family restaurant is worse, there are children and families in there all the time. If Summer was a couple of years older, she could have gone in herself.

“They need to do more regular cleaning checks or maybe only let people use the toilet by giving them a key. Nobody should be exposed to something like this.”

A KFC spokesperson said: “We are very sorry for Summer’s experience. We have spoken with the family who have accepted our sincere apologies, and we will be welcoming them back for a meal on us.

“We have a zero tolerance policy on drugs in our restaurants, and since this incident, we have taken precautions to ensure that this cannot happen again.

“We are installing equipment that allows staff to monitor who has access to the toilets and introducing UV lights, and we are confident that this will address the issue.”